WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute begins its summer concert series on Independence Day with a tribute to the British Invasion — the musical one, that is. 

 

The free family outdoor concert at 6:30 on July 4 features Across the Pond, a popular Beatles tribute band performing songs from The Beatles catalog 1963-1969, including "Let It Be," "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."                                                                 

Marc Clayton, founder of the Bennington, Vt., based Across The Pond, said he was looking forward to returning to the Clark campus with three other band members, Joseph Tucker, Jonathon Newell and Tim Wozniuak.  

 

Several reviews have praised the band for capturing the style and sound of the famed band. Across the Pond has been playing at venues throughout the Northeast for about a decade now. Clayton, reached on his phone between gigs, said, "We are lucky that everyone likes what we do." 

 

He said he learned a lesson from a previous appearance at the Clark.

 

"When I was driving toward the Clark, traffic was backed up," he explained. "I thought something spectacular must be going on. When I rolled into the parking area, it was full, and I realized that the spectacular turn out was for Across The Pond."

 

Clayton found a spot to park his vehicle only a few minutes before the band was to go on. Now, he allots more time to making his way to the Clark to perform. 

 

"We have fans of every age — 1-year=olds to people in their 90s," Clayton said. 

 

He was 5 when he heard a Beatles album for the first time. 

 

"It was Rubber Soul,” he recalled. "My mother played lots of music in the house in my elementary [school] years, including everything from Kiss, Alice Cooper, The Osmonds, and The Beatles."

 

Clayton credits The Beatles with igniting his passion for music.  

 

"I was 10 years old when John Lennon was murdered. We were living on Long Island then, and Mother took me out of school and we rode the Long Island Railroad to New York City to attend the vigil for John outside the Dakota," Clayton said, referring to the building in which Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, lived and in front of which Lennon was shot dead on Dec. 8, 1980.

 

It is obvious that the event had a tremendous impact on the young Clayton, as he still remembers, "standing among thousands in attendance outside the Dakota on a brisk December day with light snow falling."

 

"I quickly realized one of the cool guys from The Beatles was dead. From that day forward, I was inspired by John and his work with the Beatles, and it helped set a musical path for me like a lot of other musicians. I'm still on that path presently," said Clayton.  

 

After attending Lennon's vigil,Clayton's mother went with him to borrow a guitar. 

 

"My mother is my quintessential supporter. She comes to all my performances," he said.

 

The singer/songwriter's original songs have been featured on the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" and National Geographic Channel's "The Yard." 

 

Clayton possesses a natural ability for making music. "I play by ear," he said, adding he learned to play Beatle songs by listening to them and learning the notes. 

 

In 2003, while living in Nashville, Tenn., Clayton organized his first Beatles tribute band with friends. "We had instant Southern fans. It was lots of fun," he said

 

After moving to upstate New York in 2008, Clayton started playing the local music scene and placed an ad on Craigslist in search of three bandmates to form a full-time Beatles tribute band.

 

"After several auditions with different players, I was lucky to find others who really knew the Beatles music and were big fans themselves," he said. "Luckily, we are still working together to this day with other floating members filling in from time to time."

 

When asked what he finds most rewarding as a member of Across The Pond, he said, "The joy of performing Beatles' songs and bringing them to other Beatles fans. That's the reason we go out there and give it all we've got."